The Greener View: Last-Minute Gardener Gifts

Jeff Rugg on Dec 18, 2024

We are down to the last week of shopping for Christmas presents. I have a few last-minute gift ideas that you can still get by shopping locally.

Create a basic gardener's gift package and add more items as you find them. Start with a pair of gardening gloves, as gardeners are always looking for a dry and clean pair. A useful tool is a small brush to clean out under our fingernails or the mud stuck in our boots. Hand lotion, sunscreen lotion and chapstick all help to keep the gardener's skin looking young. Try combining gardening items with any other hobbies a person may have to create a thoughtful package.

Many vegetable gardeners also like to cook their produce, so make a combined basket that fits both hobbies. Find a basket, bowl or colander in the kitchen section, along with a soup spoon, ladle or other accessories. Next, visit the garden section to add some seed packages, a few peat moss pots, a pair of gloves and a package of plant labels. Add a bow and some ribbon and you have a great gift package.

It is fun to watch kids learn about plants in the garden. Many people who didn't like to eat their vegetables found out how good they were by eating them fresh off the plants they had helped plant and grow as kids. It is hard for kids to use adult-sized tools, so give them their own set of tools sized just for them. Include some favorite vegetable seeds and a book on gardening.

For the flower gardener, start with the basic gift package idea and add a hummingbird feeder. Look at flower seed packages for ones that attract hummingbirds and add a couple of them.

You won't believe how useful a magnifying glass is until you start carrying one around. A folding 10x jeweler's loupe fits in your pocket and costs about $10. It is especially useful for getting splinters out. Gardeners will use it to identify small insects such as aphids and spider mites. Plus, there are many very pretty flowers that are so tiny they go unnoticed until you have a magnifying glass with you.

Most garden kneeling pads are too thin for the rocks and roots in the garden where I need them the most. The Gorilla Grip kneeling pad is 1 1/2 inches thick. It doesn't compress like the other kneeling pads.

These supply items can all be found at your local garden center. They are things that gardeners need but run out of. They can be put into a basket or bucket (two buckets are even better) that will also be part of the gift.

-- Plant labels: Plastic lasts longer than wood but isn't biodegradable.

-- Spools of string: Try nylon mason string in bright colors or jute twine in brown or green.

-- Soft and stretchy plant ties: Velcro makes great reusable rolls of tape that can be cut to any length.

-- Non-adhesive 1/2-inch-wide stretch tape is great for holding tomato stems to stakes. Slim Soft-Tie has a thin galvanized steel wire wrapped in soft green rubber so it is very strong and soft at the same time.

All gardeners like to look at other people's gardens and public gardens for inspiration. Every area of the country has botanical gardens, so give a membership to the closest one. In many cases, the membership will allow entry into other botanic gardens across the country.

An excellent book choice for anyone who likes plants is my "Greener View Gardening" book. Find out more at Greenerview.com and don't forget to go to the Greener View YouTube channel and subscribe for free.

If all else fails, a gift certificate to the local garden center will be very nice this spring. Gift certificates are great for the hard-to-please gardener.

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Email questions to Jeff Rugg at info@greenerview.com. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.